VA chief faces tough questions on budget and veteran's suicide
Veterans Affairs Secretary James Nicholson, who testified yesterday before the House Appropriations Committee, has been met with tough questioning this week on Capitol Hill about the VA's proposed budget and, in particular, about the case of a decorated Iraq war veteran who took his own life after being put on a waiting list for in patient mental health.
Members of House and Senate committees on veterans affairs say the story of Marine Private Jonathan Schulze, 25, of Stewart, Minn. , stands as a tragic example of how the federal government is under funding the VA, which they believe is straining to provide for wounded veterans.
Schulze, who was the recipient of two Purple Hearts for his service during a tour of duty near Fallujah in 2004, packed his bag on Jan. 11 and tried to check himself into a psychiatric unit in St. Cloud, Minn. , telling the in take counselor he was suicidal.
He was turned away, his family said, and placed 26th on a waiting list for a 12-bed specialized psychiatric unit for post-traumatic stress disorder, a sometimes debilitating mental illness triggered by memories of war. It is plaguing an estimated 1 in 5 veterans returning from Iraq.
Schulze's father, James, and stepmother, Marianne, who were with him when he tried to be admitted, insist he told in take officials twice that he was suicidal -- in person Jan. 11, and the next day over the phone.
Four days later, Schulze hanged himself with a household extension cord in the basement of a New Prague, Minn., apartment where he was living temporarily with a war buddy, Major Eric Satersmoen.
Satersmoen , 25, said he tried unsuccessfully to help Schulze navigate the bureaucracy of the VA on many occasions and was with him when he made a phone call on Jan. 2 informing his primary care physician at the VA that he was suicidal. Satersmoen remembers that he was told he would not get a bed in a unit until March due to overcrowding.
US Representative Michael Michaud, Democrat of Maine , who serves on the House Veterans Affairs Committee, said in an interview yesterday, "It's a tragic situation, and we are hearing of way too many cases like this. There are veterans out there struggling with PTSD who are not getting the help they need."
But Nicholson, who oversees the sprawling VA, which has 235,000 employees and is one of the largest federal agencies in the country, told House and Senate committees this week that he disagrees. He said he believes the "landmark" budget for $87 billion will "fund our nation's commitment to America's veterans."
Nicholson appeared before the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee on Tuesday and was questioned about the Schulze case. He told members the case was being investigated by the VA and he could not be specific because of privacy laws. But he said Schulze had been seen by VA health providers on 46 occasions, adding, "That's about all I can say."
That suggested a blame-the-victim approach by the VA to committee member Senator Patricia Murray, Democrat of Washington , who delivered a sharp line of questioning to Nicholson.
At one point Murray interjected in Nicholson's testimony, saying, "You made a comment that just struck me because you said that no veteran has been denied inpatient mental health care, yet we heard about a highly publicized case of an Iraqi war veteran with two Purple Hearts named Jonathan Schulze who tragically took his own life."
Murray cited the Schulze case and a list of similar ones across the United States, saying, "When you have that many red flags going you can't just arbitrarily say no one's being denied care, and I think we have to say there are red flags out there. We need to find out what's going on."
One of those red flags appeared in western Massachusetts, where Marine Corporal Jeffrey Lucey took his life .
His father, Kevin Lucey of Belchertown, said his son was given inadequate care by the VA and released from an in patient facility even though his family maintains he expressed suicidal thoughts with his counselors.
Kevin Lucey said he felt a bond with the Schulzes since both families had suffered through the anguish of seeing sons consumed with anxiety and anger, self-destructive behavior, and ultimately a desire to kill themselves triggered by the searing memories they brought home from the war.
Jeffrey Lucey took his life in June 2004 . His father said he was discharged from the VA on June 1, despite records that show he told VA officials that he intended to end his life.
Kevin Lucey said he wanted the Schulzes to know there were "other families out there who know what they are going through."
Sennott can be reached at sennott@globe.com 